Living in a Fairy Tale
by LoquaciousStar
Summary: If Anna were to climb all the way up the ladder in the library to grab the old book shoved waaaaaay back, and if she'd read the mysterious text out loud oh-so-perfectly, then she would be transported to another dimension. Oh, and if Kristoff had grabbed onto her at just the right moment, he would be transported, too. But Anna wouldn't-oh, wait, she just did. Oops.
1. And So It Begins

Anna was in the royal library, looking for a book to consume her. It was a raining hard, and on days like this, Anna often found herself cozied up near a fire with a novel. Today, however, she was having the hardest time finding a book that looked appealing to her. Anna pursed her lips at the titles in front of her. Deciding none were worth her while, the petite princess grabbed the nearly two-story ladder from the end of the bookcase she was at and brought it more towards the middle. She climbed up a few bars and continued her search.

"Why do we even have bookshelves this tall?" Anna grumbled to herself as she climbed higher. "Wouldn't it be better to just have everything where we could reach it?" Before she realized it, Anna had reached the top of the ladder and was about to climb back down before a book caught her eye.

It wasn't a new book. It was rather plain, just black leather-bound with pealing gold letters on the spine. That's actually what set it apart; almost all the other books in the library were impeccably kept and colorful. Anna grabbed the book and, after nearly plunging to her death, made her way back down the ladder. She slammed the cumbersome book on one of the tables littered about and examined the front cover trying to discern the title. After she'd squinted at it for a while, Anna shrugged and flipped the book open at random.

"What language is this?" Anna flipped through a few more pages. "I mean, come one! What does this even say?" She held the book closer to her face. "S týmito slovami…som prepravený z tohto sveta…Nájdem môj osud dnes večer…budem si ten, ktorý sa hodí tak akurát."

A wind swept through the library, ruffling the pages of the open books. "What the-Ahh!" Anna cried as the wind caught her skirt and pushed it a little too high.

Kristoff had been strolling past the royal library looking for Anna when he heard her squeal. He doubled back quickly and pushed the heavy doors open. His curiosity was met with Anna being lifted off the ground, struggling against an unseen force to hold her dress down. "Anna!" he yelled, and, without hesitation, darted into the room and grabbed her ankle, the part of her closer to the ground. He looked up at her face, which looked rather flushed. Before Kristoff could comment, her skirt flapped in front of his face. By the time Anna regained control of her dress, both of them were beet red.

Without warning, the wind that had pulled Anna up blew more intensely, drawing Kristoff up as well. Then, with a puff of smoke, the pair disappeared.


	2. Up a Tower

Anna rolled over in her sleep. She could feel the warm sunlight pooling over her head, but she was too tired to get up and shut the curtains. A fly buzzed near her ear. She swatted at it a few times before sitting up and blearily blinking her eyes open. The first thing she saw was the blue of the comforter on top of her. Anna poked at the blanket. "I thought this was green…" She opened her mouth for a yawn and then looked around a little bit more. She was wearing a white frilly nightgown. She poked at it, too. Anna was 92% sure she didn't own anything with this much lace on it.

More awake every second, Anna swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Hello?" she called out tentatively. No response. Anna took in more of her surroundings. "Where on earth am I?" she mumbled, heading toward one of the two doors in the room. When she pulled it open, her gaze was met with dozens of pretty dresses, none of which she recognized. Oh well, it's not like she could wander around this mysterious place in sleepwear. Anna grabbed a reddish dress and slipped on a pair of clogs on the closet floor. Anna stopped by the mirror on the armoire to discover that her hair was tied in pigtail braids, instead of its ordinary morning disarray. It was peculiar, because Anna never wore braids to bed. She hated the feel of them between her head and her pillow.

Now Anna was fully awake and trying tom recall how she'd gotten to this room. Her thoughts were interrupted by a shout from…below?

"I'm coming up, darling!" It was a male voice. Anna rushed out the other door and found herself on a staircase. The stairs ended in what appeared to be some sort of common room, with a modest kitchen, a few bookcases, and some couches. Anna's eyes flew to the wide window directly across from the stairs. She approached the window to see some sort of pulley system in action, with a rope being pulled and then stopping, then being pulled again. A brown head of hair came in to view, followed by a pair of arms that was working the pulley system. The man sat on the window ledge and swung himself inside.

"Hans?!" Anna cried, eyes wide. She backpedaled away from the horrid man. However, she wasn't familiar with the layout of the room, so she tripped on a table leg and landed across an armchair.

"Honey?" Hans strolled towards the armchair and picked up Anna's hand. "Is something the matter?"

Anna pulled her hand from Hans' grip and scrambled out of the chair. "You-you-what have you done?! Where am I?"

Hans gently grabbed her shoulder. "Anna, princess, please calm-"

"NO!" Anna roared and slapped his hand away. "WHERE AM I?"

Hans cocked his head to one head and stared at the fuming girl before him for a few seconds. Then he sighed and sat calmly on the chair Anna had just vacated. "We've gone through this before, sweetie. You're in a tower in the east wood until our wedding day."

Anna felt sick. She was in a…tower? Anna darted to the window and looked down. It was at least two hundred feet, probably higher, more than enough to make her head spin like crazy. She jerked her head back inside and glared at Hans, still sitting coolly in the chair. She slowly staggered back to the prince and mustered our fiercest glare. "Tell me again…why _exactly_ am I here?"

"We're protecting you until we can officially be wed."

"Protecting me from what?"

Hans arched his eyebrows. "Why, dumpling, you know that there are thousands of suitors that would die for your hand in marriage. This is just a precaution, so no one can steal you away."

"Why are we getting married?"

"Because we love each other!" Hans chortled. In response to Anna's unwavering glare, he continued. "Plus, you're beautiful, and I require a gorgeous wife. It's only right. Besides, you are of some royal lineage, being the Duke of Hargeon's daughter and all. It's not like you can do better than me. Therefore, we shall be wed!" At this last bit, Hans smiled, but it wasn't a good smile; it was the kind of smile that makes babies bawl. "Could you make me some tea, sweetheart? I'm parched."

Anna remained where she stood. "No."

Hans looked up at her. "Oh?"

"No, I won't make you _tea_, I won't serve you, and I will never, ever marry you!" Anna spun on her heal and stomped to the window. She was sitting on the ledge, trying to figure out how to climb down when she felt a prick on her arm. Her vision blurred, and she fell backwards, into something solid. Someone's arms. There was uncomfortably hot breath on her neck.

"Now listen here, _dearest_, you are never leaving this tower, and you will never leave me," Hans hissed in her ear. "Give it up."

Anna's vision went dark and she could remember no more.

* * *

Kristoff had never been more confused in his life. He'd woken up on a pile of hay in clothes that certainly weren't his, with this little note stuck to his nose with some tree sap said that Anna was in danger. It was quite perplexing. It had turned out that he was in a small shack in the absolute middle of nowhere, surrounded by a dense forest.

Kristoff had seen no other option than to get moving and try to find help. Somewhere amidst his blundering through the forest, he finally recalled the incident in the library and the book, but he couldn't remember any more than that.

After a few hours of hopelessly running in what he assumed were circles, Kristoff heard a man's voice. He darted toward the sound, but froze in his tracks when he saw who it was.

Hans was sitting atop a great tan horse, talking to himself. Kristoff ducked behind a bush and strained to hear what the prince was saying.

"…thinks she can escape _me_? She knows I have this drug on me…Oh, well. You and I both know she will be mine forever. Now if only Anna would get that through her head…"

At Anna's name, Kristoff's breath hitched, and he listened harder for more, but to no avail; the prince was simply too far away now. After Hans was out of sight, Kristoff emerged from his hiding place and crouched down by the horse's hoof prints. He looked in the direction Hans had just been. He could follow him, but…his gut told him to figure out where he came from instead.

Kristoff followed the trampled grass and bent branches. "Man, this pair practically paved me a road with a sign saying 'Come this way!'" Kristoff muttered and shook his head at Hans' stupidity.

Eventually, the horse's path merged onto a dirt path worn by thousands of feet. Or maybe the same feet, hundreds of times? The path led him to a clearing in the woods, and in the middle of the clearing sat a tower.

Kristoff circled the base of the structure, but found no entrance; in fact, there was nothing but two ropes dangling from the one window waaaaaaaaaay up. Tied to the end of one was a small wooden plank large enough to stand on. This end was securely knotted on a metal bar fixed to the wall. Kristoff untied the plank end experimentally tugged at it. The other end went up. When he tugged the other end, the plank went up. Taking a deep breath, Kristoff mounted the plank and began pulling himself up.

This process turned out to be excruciatingly long, with the added element of Kristoff being in constant danger of falling to his death. When he finally made it to the window ledge, he was drenched in sweat and sore everywhere. His arms were strong, but that was quite the workout.

The ice cutter found himself in a living room of sorts. Everything was really tidy; the only thing in the room that stuck out to Kristoff was the stairs on the other side. He crept up the stairs with a careful, quiet gracelessness, and peeked around the corner when he reached the top.

Anna was primly lying asleep in a bed, hands folded across her stomach. Kristoff's stomach dropped as he rushed to her and grabbed her shoulders.

"Anna? Anna!" Not so much as a twitch. Kristoff sat on the bed, feeling nothing but despair. Is this what that note meant? Was Anna being imprisoned by Hans? He had mentioned something about a drug when Kristoff had eavesdropped earlier. Was that how he'd subdued her?

Kristoff stared at Anna's calm sleeping form, feeling utterly helpless. He slipped off the bed and curled up in a ball on the floor, his thoughts and guilt haunting him until he fell into a fitful slumber.

* * *

The next morning, Anna awoke in the same bed, in the same nightgown. "That pervert changed my clothes," Anna muttered with malice. She reached up and felt the spot on her neck where she'd been pricked yesterday. A little bump, nothing more, hinted at what happened. Anna sighed and pulled her covers off. She went to step on the floor, but she stepped on something lumpy instead. Something warm and a little squishy.

"Gah!" Anna cried as the thing she stepped on grunted and rolled over. This threw Anna off balance, and she fell gracelessly. She didn't land on the floor though. At least, it didn't feel like the floor. No, she opened her eyes to find herself in a man's lap.

"Kristoff!" Anna cheered, throwing her arms around his neck. "Oh! Did I step on you? I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were down here!"

"Oh, yeah, it's okay." Kristoff could feel the blush creeping up his neck. Anna noticed and tried to figure out why. Then she realized she was still sitting in his lap. Oops.

Anna climbed off the ice cutter and offered him her hand. He took it, and she threw all of her weight backwards to help him up, though she wasn't entirely certain that helped at all. Kristoff was just so massive!

A most unwelcome yell interrupted the pair's reunion. "Sweetheart!" It was Hans. "I've returned!" The creaking of the pulley could be heard from the room below. It was all Anna and Kristoff could do to gape at each other, frozen in place.

Anna came to her senses first. "Quick!" She ripped up the comforter and gestured under the bed. "Under here!"

"I can't fit under there!"

"Try! I have to get dressed. Hurry!"

Grumbling, the large man began to squish himself into the too small space below the bed. Anna rushed to the closet and threw on the first dress she could grab. Wordlessly, the pair finished preparing themselves, and Anna collected herself and serenely strolled down the stairs.


	3. Raspberries

_Play along…Play along…_

This mantra ran through Anna's head as she descended to face the face of her nightmares and the sole object of her hatred. "Hello…dear."

Hans flashed a smile that didn't meet his eyes. "Feeling better today?"

Anna gritted her teeth. "Yes, very. I don't know what came over me," she choked out. It took all the self-restraint she possessed to not snarl as Hans approached her.

"Come, sit." He ushered Anna to the sofa. He peered at her intently and took her hand. She ignored his gaze and fiddled with the ribbon on the skirt of her dress. Hans put his other hand on her face and forced her to look at him. Anna's jaw was clenched and she was forcing her eyebrows to not look angry, but she met his gaze anyway. Then he leaned in for a kiss.

Kristoff couldn't take it anymore. "Stop!" he hollered, barging into the room. Hans jerked away from Anna and in an instant had his sword at the ready. Startled by Kristoff's arrival and Hans' sudden movement, Anna fell in a heap on the floor.

"Who are you, and how did you find this place?" Hans yelled, stepping towards Kristoff.

Kristoff put both of his hands up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Take it easy!"

"Who are you, and how did you find this place?" Hans repeated, coming closer to the blond man and brandishing his lethal sword.

"Look, I don't really know-"

"Liar!" Hans cried, the tip of his sword now at Kristoff's throat. "Who are y-" _Thud._ Hans fell to the side, revealing Anna holding a heavy lamp.

The pair stared at each other. "Um, thanks," Kristoff muttered.

"Anytime," Anna said with a half-smile. They looked as the unconscious figure in front of them some more before Anna broke the silence. "Should we-I don't know-do something with him?"

"No, there's no blood or anything. Let's just go before he comes to." Kristoff bent and picked up Hans' sword from the floor and tucked it in his belt. He looked up to find Anna staring at him, looking confused. "What? It might come in handy."

Anna shrugged. "Alright, then." She approached the window. "Now, how are we supposed to get down? I've never climbed a rope in my life."

After a few mild spats and awkward moments, Anna had agreed to hang on Kristoff's back while he climbed down. Honestly, coming to that decision was more difficult than the actual descent for Kristoff. Once the couple reached the bottom, they surveyed their surroundings.

"It's all trees," Anna stated bluntly.

Kristoff shrugged. "Well, pick a direction, then."

Anna jerked to look at him, her eyes wide. "Just pick a direction? _That's_ your plan?"

"Yeah, why not?"

Anna pursed her lips and looked around once more. "How about…that way?" Anna pointed a bit to the right.

"Looks good to me," Kristoff answered and strode in the direction Anna had pointed.

The pair wandered around for a few hours, only stopping once or twice. The sun was beginning to set when Anna halted again.

Kristoff turned to see why Anna had stopped, and saw a look of confusion and mild horror etched across her face.

Anna cocked her head to the side "We've been here before."

"What?" Kristoff exclaimed. "No, we haven't!"

"Yes, we have." Anna pointed to a small pool of water a little ways ahead. "That's where we stopped earlier, where we found the family of ducks."

"No, it can't be." Kristoff charged over to the pond and looked around frantically.

"Look," Anna said pointing. "There are the raspberry bushes we ate from earlier. And there's the one you stepped on."

Kristoff groaned and put his hand over his eyes. "We've gone in one big circle."

"Yeah."

"We've wasted an entire day."

"Pretty much."

"Now we have no food or shelter, and the sun's almost done setting."

"We have the raspberries." Kristoff lifted his hand to see Anna tugging a few berries off one of the bushes. She approached him again and offered a few. Kristoff exhaled heavily and scooped up the berries, popping them in his mouth all at once. "It could be worse," Anna said with a smile.

Kristoff gazed at her optimistic face and sighed. "I guess." He hefted his sword up and took a few practice swings. "I'm going to chop some wood. We're going to need a fire for the night."

"Ooh, I'll pick some berries!" Anna cried, grinning.

Kristoff returned with a small chortle before turning on his heel and getting to work.

Their meager camp was assembled in no time, and, after a feast of raspberries, the couple fell asleep.


End file.
